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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28156200">Two arrows, one body.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishyflame/pseuds/fishyflame'>fishyflame</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Death, Gen, Minecraft, Minecraft Mechanics, No respawns, Not Canon Compliant, Pain, Swearing, Well - Freeform, What am I doing, am new to ao3, cry, i don't know how to tag, i spent too long on this, idk - Freeform, it's old news now, martyr, mia if you find this tell me</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 17:42:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,794</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28156200</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishyflame/pseuds/fishyflame</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Basically a rendition of Tommy vs Dream duel from months ago. This is old news but I wanted to write it. This has been gathering dust in a file for weeks while I build up the courage to post it. I guess it's good though.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>No Romantic Relationship(s), None, because that's weird</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Two arrows, one body.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Welcome to my first AO3 writing</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>'Do I shoot him, Wil, or do I aim for the skies?' Tommy was shaking. He'd done that. He'd challenged Dream to a duel. And Dream had accepted. Holy shit, this was happening.</p><p>He looked over to Wilbur for guidance, 'Tommy, I want you to - I want you to do whatever your heart says you should do.' Woah Wilbur, that was so helpful, Tommy thought. But he knew what he had to do.</p><p>&gt;~&lt;</p><p>Dawn rose on what would be his or Dream’s final day. Tommy stood atop the walls of L'Manberg, surveying the damage that Dream and his friends had done to his home. There were craters from the TNT that the traitor (he refused to say his name) had planted in their land and Dream had detonated. The Camarvan had suffered from the blasts, but Wilbur and Tommy had patched it up as best they could with various materials. The flag, the one Niki designed, flew proudly in the morning breeze, despite the scorch marks around the edges. It was a sign of hope, a sign of their chance at freedom. Tommy had to win this duel. Dream yawned as he got out of bed. He had no doubt in his skills: he would win this duel. There was nothing to worry about, no need to have a 'last look' around his home or write his will. He was definitely confident. He didn't regret anything. He didn't need to. He had fought this war well, and they were going to win. There was no doubt about it. He looked out of the windows of his house towards the so-called ‘country’ known as L’Manberg. He must admit, he was impressed with Tommy’s bravery (or was it stupidity?) at challenging him to a duel. Did he truly believe he’d win? It was selfless, sure, and ‘brave’, but did he know that he was throwing his life away? Did he know that he wasn’t ever going to win? Dream sighed. He was going to go into this duel and shoot Tommy. He was going to go into this duel and kill Tommy. A child. A very annoying child, who he’d been fighting a war against, but a child nonetheless. Could he do it? They’d been fighting a war for oh so long now. Yes, he could shoot this child and kill him in cold blood. There would be two people going into this duel, two bows, two arrows. There would be one person coming out of it. One person and one body.</p><p>&gt;~&lt;</p><p>Tommy arrived after Dream. He arrived alone, telling Wilbur and the others to meet him later. He had something to say to Dream. He approached the path where one of them would die. Dream was alone, sitting on the side of the path with his feet dangling above the water. Tommy looked around quickly, looking for signs of Sapnap and George, but it seemed that Dream was truly alone. There would be no one jumping him, he was safe to talk to Dream. ‘Dream!’ Tommy called out: he didn’t want Dream to be startled and pull out the weapon he was likely to have on him. Dream looked around quickly and caught sight of Tommy. Tommy put his hands up, gesturing that he was unarmed.</p><p>Dream frowned, ‘What do you want Tommy? The duel isn’t for-’ he glanced towards the sun, ‘-another half an hour or so.’</p><p>There was no point in beating around the bush, he had less time than he thought, ‘I’ll be blunt here Dream-’ Dream laughed and Tommy glared at him, ‘I want to make a deal with you, And I want you to swear that you won’t break it.’</p><p>‘Do you really trust me Tommy?’ Dream laughed again and Tommy clenched his fists, ‘I mean, I could just beat you in this duel and then destroy L’Manberg, or whatever you’re calling your ‘nation’.'</p><p>‘I don’t trust you, but I really don’t have a choice. I just want you to swear you won’t break it.’</p><p>‘Well, what’s the deal? We’re running out of time here Tommy.’</p><p>‘Okay, geez, let me finish.’ Tommy ran a hand through his hair and sighed, ‘Dream…I want you to swear – I want you to promise that even if I lose this duel, you’ll grant L’Manberg its independence.’</p><p>‘And what do I get by doing that?’ Dream chuckled, although he seemed to be considering Tommy’s offer.</p><p>‘Could you just stop interrupting me and maybe you’d find out!’ Tommy paused: could he really do this? Yes, he had to, for Wilbur, Tubbo, Fundy, Niki, ‘Dream, if I lose this duel…I will give you the discs – both Cat and Mellohi – for the independence of L’Manberg.’ This was the right thing to do and he had to have a back-up plan in case he lost this duel (he always knew he had a slim chance – a very slim chance – of winning this duel).</p><p>‘That’s…very selfless of you Tommy.’ He was surprised; Dream didn’t know Tommy was this selfless, ‘What makes you think that’s what I want?’</p><p>‘Oh for God’s sake–’ Tommy cut himself off; he had to stay calm, ‘Dream,’ he began calmly, ‘We started a goddamn war over those discs, and you say that they’re not what you want? We fought a war over those discs and you know you want them. You get them for the freedom of my– our nation.’</p><p>Dream was shocked. Yes, he wanted the discs, but he truly didn’t believe Tommy had been paying that much attention to the opposition. He was silent, but not for long, ‘Okay Tommy, we have a deal: if you lose this duel, I get your discs and L’Manberg is a free country. If you win, you’re free.’</p><p>Tommy nodded and thought for a second, ‘One final thing Dream…Don’t tell anyone about this, they don’t need to know.’ Dream looked confused but nodded. Tommy shrugged and turned to go. He needed to go back to L’Manberg and write something, in case he died.</p><p>&gt;~&lt;</p><p>Tommy again sat upon the walls. After his talk with Dream, he was tense and conscious of the fact that time was running out. The talk had taken less time than he expected and he had time to gather his thoughts. Fundy and Tubbo were near their makeshift camp, after the explosions, making breakfast for when Wilbur and Niki got up. Tommy was too nervous to eat. He looked out of the walls again and began his note:</p><p>
  <em>‘Dear Wilbur, Tubbo, Fundy and Niki. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>If you’re reading this…’</em>
</p><p>He looked at the piece of paper with tears in his eyes. The note was short and sweet, explaining everything that he’d told Dream, everything he’d sacrificed for his nation, everything he’d miss but also everything he loved in the time they built L’Manberg. He climbed down from the walls to sit with the others. He laughed and joked as normal, and so did the others, as if he weren’t about to walk to his death in less than a quarter of an hour. It wasn’t tense, it wasn’t forced laughter, it was just friends having a nice morning before one of them moved away for a while. That’s all it was.</p><p>&gt;~&lt;</p><p>The sun had nearly risen by the time the two men approached the duelling ground. On one side, stood Sapnap and George, George still sleepily rubbing his eyes and leaning on Sapnap. On the other, Tubbo, Fundy and Niki looked towards them, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Tommy stared at the ground. He couldn't make eye contact with Dream, the one he'd shoot or be shot by. Eret stood near the centre. They didn't know where they belonged - they'd betrayed L'Manberg, joined Dream's side and become a king. A solitary king. Maybe it would've been better if they stayed with L'Manberg because they at least would've had friends. Wilbur stood to the side of the path. He was doing the countdown to the death. 'Go discuss this with your men and then we will begin.' He frowned and walked away from the two, towards his men. Tommy followed behind him.</p><p>&gt;~&lt;</p><p>‘Okay, this is probably not the best time to say this, guys…’ Tommy started, ‘But… I kinda don’t have a bow.’</p><p>‘What the fuck Tommy.’ Wilbur exclaimed.</p><p>‘You go into a duel – a bow duel – to the death, and you don’t have a bow?’ Tubbo frowned. He’d been silent in the past few hours leading up to the duel. The truth was, he didn’t know how he’d deal with life without Tommy, if he lost the duel (but Tommy didn’t need to know that).</p><p>‘Thank God one of us is prepared then.’ Fundy sighed, pulling a bow out of his pack that he was so conveniently carrying. ‘Just so you know, Tommy, I do not in any way support what you’re getting yourself into.’</p><p>Tommy nodded, ‘Thank you Fundy. I’m going to get our independence.’ Fundy nodded.</p><p>&gt;~&lt;</p><p>Dream was laughing with his friends. None of them had any doubt in his skills and they knew he would win. ‘Well, Dream, we’ll no longer be at war once this is over.’ Sapnap laughed.</p><p>‘Yeah…It’s crazy that it’s ending.’ Dream smiled; this war had been an experience to say the least. He’d had fun fighting alongside his friends, small skirmishes against ‘L’Manberg’, playing the bad guy. Admittedly, he knew that he’d most likely blown the original conflict out of proportion, but so had Wilbur, so they were both at fault to be fair to him.</p><p>‘Kinda feels like the end of an era type shit, y’know?’ George sighed. Everything was ending, and they all knew that nothing would be the same by the end of this duel.</p><p>‘You ready to go win this man?’ Sapnap slapped Dream on the back, ‘We’ll be watching.’ He smiled.</p><p>‘Okay, let’s do this thing,’ Dream nodded and called over to Wilbur, ‘Are you ready to start then, <em>L’Manberg</em>?’ He caught sight of Tommy frowning and smirked. This would be an easy win.</p><p>&gt;~&lt;</p><p>‘Backs to each other. I will count ten paces. You will walk slowly, without speeding up, and I will count ten paces. When I have said the word fire, you may turn around and fire upon each other, do you understand?’ Wilbur was doing the countdown and he had to make sure his man was prepared.</p><p>‘Yes.’ Dream.</p><p>‘Yep.’ Tommy said, a few seconds later.</p><p>‘Okay…’ Was Wilbur even ready for this? He was counting down his little brother to his death. His little brother. Well, Tommy had started this duel, this war, and he was going to see it through to the end: Wilbur had no choice, ‘One.’</p><p>&gt;~&lt;</p><p>
  <em>‘One.’</em>
</p><p>Tommy was shaking. He’d been living through adrenaline and shock since he challenged Dream. Now reality was hitting him all at once. It was truly going to be the end. For him, for L’Manberg, the end of this war. So many things had changed. Once, it was a peaceful, safe community, when everyone got along. Things had changed. Times had changed. People had changed.</p><p>
  <em>‘Down with the revolution boys. It was never meant to be.’</em>
</p><p>Eret’s betrayal had hurt L’Manberg. Tubbo had been greatly affected by it, because the two had spent so much time together, farming and gathering resources. Eret had changed. They’d chosen the winning side, but the wrong side of history. They'd be written as a villain for the future generations to read about. They were a king, but a solitary one.</p><p>
  <em>‘Two.’</em>
</p><p>Dream tightened his grip on his bow. He wasn’t having second thoughts now, was he? There were eight – eight – seconds left until they both released their arrows. He couldn’t have second thoughts. He had no doubt in his skills, he knew he would win, but he doubted whether he was strong enough, mentally, to kill Tommy. If he didn’t do it, there was no doubt that Tommy would shoot him. Dream knew that no matter what doubts either of them were having, only one of them would be coming out of this duel alive. Dream expected that to be him.</p><p>
  <em>‘White flags! White flags, outside your base, by tomorrow at dawn, or you are dead!’</em>
</p><p>Had Dream been too harsh there? He may have overreacted. But this was his server, his land that ‘L’Manberg’ were taking for themselves and he didn’t agree with that. But the enemy was just two kids, a musician, a fox and a man who would never be loyal. They were never going to win, so why did Dream put so much effort into defeating them? He knew he was strong; he knew that George and Sapnap were strong. They were fighting against kids. Why did it have to end this way?</p><p>
  <em>'Three.'</em>
</p><p>Wilbur was counting down his little brother to his death. His little fucking brother. Sure, he was annoying but they'd fought a war together and Wilbur didn't know what he'd do if Tommy was gone. He said that Tommy didn't stand for him, that he didn't agree with what Tommy was doing, but he was proud. But… What would Phil think? What would Techno think? He was leading their younger brother into a duel to his death. Sure, he didn't agree with what Tommy was doing, but he still didn't stop him. This would be his fault if he died.</p><p>
  <em>'Do I shoot him, Wil, or do I aim for the skies?' </em>
</p><p>
  <em>'Tommy I want you to- I want you to do whatever your heart says you should do.'</em>
</p><p>He should never have said that. What happened if Tommy threw away his shot? He'd be killed, by Dream. Why hadn't he stopped Tommy? What chance did Wilbur believe they had in this war, in the duel? He had started this as a joke but it had escalated, with both Dream and Wilbur raising the stakes, making bigger problems. Wilbur was at fault, for dragging two children into his mess. But, so was Dream. Dream had blown this drastically out of proportion. They only wanted to peacefully discuss and succeed from Dream SMP, and be their own country. Couldn't Dream see that they intended to be peaceful? Words not weapons. They weren't prepared for a war on this scale, and when Eret had betrayed them, they'd lost everything. Wilbur knew he had to negotiate surrender then and there. But he'd been cocky, he'd been so sure that Dream didn't ever have the capacity to detonate his country. He should've known, he underestimated Dream's power and corruption. He was forced to flee, their backs to the sun, into Tommy's bunker, their final defence. Fundy had begged for Wilbur to bring out a final plan, a final strength against Dream. There was no final plan, no missile or secret weapon. They had lost. So, Wilbur took Tommy with him, to discuss their surrender. Why did he think Tommy would listen to him, telling him not to challenge Dream? Maybe he never thought Tommy would listen, maybe he thought that Tommy would have a chance in a one-on-one with Dream. He'd been foolish.</p><p>
  <em>‘Four.’</em>
</p><p>Tubbo couldn’t do this. His best friend was walking himself to his death. Why hadn’t he tried to convince him otherwise? He hadn’t spoken up until it had been too late. And even then he hadn’t tried to convince Tommy otherwise. Maybe he knew it had been futile. Once Tommy was set on something, he would see it through, no matter the cost. But still, he felt useless, as he watched Tommy walk with his back to Dream, his eyes to the ground – he refused to make eye contact because he knew he’d cry. Tubbo couldn’t watch, but he knew he’d be disappointed if he looked away. He stood at Fundy’s side, watching the path, watching Dream and Tommy’s shadows move further away from each other, one of them (probably Tommy, Tubbo thought – knew –, but he shook the morbid thought away) to their death.</p><p>
  <em>‘Eret listen to me, and I mean this in the nicest way possible: you fucked up.’</em>
</p><p>Tubbo had always envied Tommy’s confidence, his willingness to get involved and fix things (or create problems), but maybe, maybe that had been the thing that had got them into this mess. He hated that things had changed when Wilbur had joined the server, that Tommy had replaced their friendship time with planning for war. They’d been forced to grow up way too fast. Things had changed fast. They’d been kids once. Once. Times had changed. Tubbo had never been one to start conflict, or to go into wars. He followed Tommy. That’d definitely got into more trouble than he’d planned but it had been fun. Things had been fun but war had destroyed everything. Tubbo liked the peace, liked being content. He felt tears pool in his eyes and moved his hand from where it was clutching on Fundy's uniform to wipe his eyes. He couldn't cry here, not now. Tommy was being brave, Tommy was being strong – Tubbo had to do the same.</p><p>
  <em>‘Five.’</em>
</p><p>Eret looked towards the duel. They felt helpless. Maybe things had been different if they hadn’t betrayed L’Manberg. Things could’ve been so different. Why had they done it? It hadn’t had much appeal at the time, except maybe the position of power was nice, especially when under L’Manberg, Eret had only been a soldier, and a citizen. It never felt good enough, or important. Even Tommy, a child – a sixteen-year-old, had a higher position of power than them. Maybe they found power more important than they should. Maybe the others felt a similar way… But none of that mattered now. They’d betrayed their friends, no matter what became in the end. They were helpless and they felt partially to blame. They thought they were partially responsible (maybe they were) for leading a kid to his death. They’d secured L’Manberg’s downfall, and forced the duel onto them. Maybe they didn’t think it would be Tommy – although they probably should’ve seen it coming, since Tommy was the brashest person.</p><p>
  <em>‘...Together we are one…’</em>
</p><p>Eret had lost it all, to gain some power, that had never been an actual promise over power. Being on Dream’s side may’ve practically guaranteed victory, but it didn’t make them happy. Sure, winning was nice, but it hadn’t been a win. Not really. It’d been joining a side that was guaranteed to win, with or without Eret’s help. He’d betrayed his friends for Dream’s side, but it had never changed anything. They were still the same person they were with L’Manberg, still the same person who wanted some power, some recognition. They’d become a king, but a solitary King, only a figurehead for a nation that would never need them. It hurt. So, they watched the duel from the side-lines, hoping it would go well, wondering if things could’ve been different, trying to find hope in a hopeless situation. (Deep down, they always knew that L’Manberg wasn’t strong enough to win, but they’d pushed that thought away, for some other bad day).</p><p>
  <em>‘Six. Seven.’</em>
</p><p>L’Manberg’s soldiers – their citizens – stood terrified, eyes frozen onto their second in command, as they watched him walk to his death. This wasn’t the future they’d wanted. This wasn’t the future Wilbur had promised. He’d never told them that this was the beauty of war – two people, backs to each other walking to their death. Yet, they couldn’t dwell on the past, what could’ve been, what should’ve been, everything they could’ve changed. This was the reality that they’d been led to, and this was the consequences of war. It was the painful truth. A child had thrown himself into a duel against a skilled marksman. They knew they’d cry tonight. There would be death on this path, blood in the water, a body in the ground. There would be a future that could never be achieved, a story that’d never be told, a lifetime that would never be lived. They would cry tonight, every single one of them. They would mourn a fallen soldier. Time would move on, but they would never forget.</p><p>
  <em>‘Eight. Nine. Ten paces. Fire!’</em>
</p><p>Tommy looked up from the ground quickly, ready to turn. He caught a glimpse of the tears in Tubbo’s eyes, the fear in Fundy’s eyes, the hope in Niki’s. He couldn’t ever let them down. He didn’t want to leave Tubbo behind, Tubbo who had tears in his eyes, who was clinging to Fundy’s jacket as if it were a lifeline, a token of luck, something that would secure them victory. He couldn’t let Fundy beat him either (it was a long running joke that although Fundy was technically the president’s son, he never got a position of power), Fundy who had never been especially noticeable, but was always there, always willing to help, always wanting to ‘cook drugs’ with them. He couldn’t leave Niki behind and just leave Tubbo to tease Wilbur about this being ‘so awkward for you Wilbur’, Niki who had always been there, willing to be the one who fixed everything in the end, the one who would keep the peace and diffuse tensions and arguments between the citizens. He couldn’t leave any of this.</p><p>He saw Wilbur standing directly in the middle as he spun to fire on Dream. He saw his brother stand back, away from the conflict, avoiding looking him in the eyes. Maybe Wilbur knew that this was partially his fault (along with everyone else who blamed themselves) but Tommy would never blame Wilbur. He couldn’t even blame Dream, although it had been Dream who had caused a massive conflict over two music discs. He saw Dream as they both pulled back their bowstrings and loaded an arrow. He saw regret in his eyes, pain and pity. He knew that Dream was pitying him, for going into this duel when he had practically no chance of winning. However, this was no time for weakness.</p><p>Tommy turned, and fired an arrow at his opponent. He’d never, for a second, considered throwing away his shot. He was his country’s last hope, the one holding the last glimpse of a future in which L’Manberg flourished. He had confidence in his skills, at least for this. He knew that there would be tears tonight, he knew that they’d be tears of anguish and of loss, no matter the outcome. He knew he had a slim chance of winning. He knew he could die, probably would die, but he held onto the slim grasp of hope that his arrow would fly true and hit Dream. He didn’t want any more loss, any more pain, but he knew that this was the only conclusion to this war. If he hadn’t challenged Dream to this duel, there would just be endless fighting, endless pain, endless loss. So, this was it.</p><p>His arrow had missed and barely skimmed Dream’s shoulder. Damn it. Reloading arrows took time, and Tommy dodged and ducked the arrow Dream had sent at him, fumbling for a second arrow. This was it.</p><p>&gt;~&lt;</p><p>Dream was pleasantly surprised almost, when Tommy’s arrow had almost hit him. Obviously, he didn’t want to be hit, but he was proud of how much Tommy had grown, had changed. Still, they were enemies, they were opponents, they stood on two different ends of the path and they both knew that one of them would die here. It seemed that everyone expected it to be Tommy. Dream expected it to be Tommy. He knew that despite how much more skilled Tommy may’ve gotten during the war, he would never be as good as Dream. Still, Dream had considered throwing away his shot to give the teen one more chance at life. He saw the pain and anguish and flickers of hope in the eyes of the L’Manbergians, and he hated to be the one to quash it. But, the story would show that Dream’s first arrow missed and he dove to the right as he notched another arrow.</p><p>&gt;~&lt;</p><p>The arrow hit Tommy squarely in the ribs. He stumbled backwards, from the force of being struck by an arrow to the heart. This was what he’d expected yet it still hurt to know he’d lost. He’d failed his country. He'd failed Wilbur, he’d failed Tubbo, he’d failed them all. He’d never thought he’d win, really, but he’d hoped.</p><p>Dream's whole body shook. With the shock, the horror, of what he had just done. He'd actually just shot Tommy. The horror of what he had done dawned on him and he felt himself go numb. Sapnap and George rushed forward to catch him in case he fell. He couldn't fall now, he had to stand strong. He watched as Niki ran forward, the L'Manbergian medic being the only one (besides himself and Bad) who would have even a slim chance of saving Tommy. He shook his head internally. When Tommy had challenged him to the duel, they both knew that he was probably going to die. But… It still hurt. It still fucking hurt, to know he’d been the cause of Tommy’s death.</p><p>Wilbur choked out a shaky breath as he saw his little brother fall backwards. Why did he feel like this was his fault? He didn’t shoot Tommy. He only watched as Tommy threw himself into the duel. <em>He only watched.</em> He’d never tried to stop him. (Maybe this was the beginning of Wilbur’s slow, painful spiral into insanity, but he’d never let anyone know that. Tommy certainly wouldn’t be around to see it). He saw his brother fall and rushed over to him, as Niki frantically began trying to patch up the wound (everyone knew that her efforts would prove worthless, including herself, but none of them could truly give up). There were countless excuses he could’ve made to defend himself, but the truth was that he had not tried to stop Tommy, that maybe he held a slim glimpse of hope, like the others. But really, he knew that Tommy would not live through this fight.</p><p>Tubbo gasped and scrambled away from Fundy towards Tommy. Why hadn’t he done anything? Why the fuck was it that Tommy had gone into a duel hoping to secure independence for their nation, and come out like this? They’d lost, but Tubbo couldn’t acknowledge that now. All he could do was hold Tommy’s hand tightly and hold back his tears as Niki haphazardly tried to fix him. They all knew that her efforts would prove fruitless by the evening, but none of them could bring themselves to give up.</p><p>George and Sapnap looked onto the scene and then rushed forwards towards Dream. He looked shocked, and stumbled. Then he pulled himself up, and turned back towards them. George felt slightly guilty for turning his back on the L’Manbergians, but also knew that they’d never accept their help, after the events of the war. Sapnap frowned slightly and then shook his head. This meant the war was over. It truly was the end of an era.</p><p>Eret stood conflicted on the sidelines. They knew that L’Manberg would never accept their help, especially since they were the one who brought the country to such a desperate state. They felt so responsible for this duel, despite not being directly involved. They didn’t shoot Tommy. But they felt they loaded the bow.</p><p>Fundy and Niki had rushed forwards as soon as the boy in front of them had stumbled. They were the only people who maybe had a slim chance of being able to save Tommy. (They also knew that no matter what they did, this kid would be dead by evening, but couldn’t bring themselves to give up.)</p><p>Tommy smiled as he fell, glad that he had one final plan in place, since he knew that it would come to this. He was always going to lose against Dream, but he was glad the war was over, and he was glad it was one-on-one, no one else would get hurt (surely, he knew deep down that his family, his country would be hurt by this, but he couldn’t bring himself to acknowledge that in this moment.)</p><p>&gt;~&lt;</p><p>As the sun fell on the day of the duel, TommyInnit died. He didn't die peacefully, he died as a hero, talking and laughing with his friends, as they knew he was breathing his last. That was the thing about Tommy, he was never quiet. He never gave up and he never said he was done. Tommy died as a hero, who would be remembered for securing the independence of his nation, emancipated from the harsh rule of the Dream SMP. His friends felt his loss and felt pain as he died, and they all shed their tears. Tommy refused to cry, no matter how much dying had hurt. He was gone, they were free, and L'Manberg had gained a legend.</p><p>The people of L'Manberg had listened to their president as he gave a speech for Tommy's funeral. '... TommyInnit is a hero. We may have lost the war, lost the duel, but we never gave up. Tommy never gave up.' Wilbur's voice was thick with tears. There were tears glistening in the eyes of everyone around, Niki, Fundy, Tubbo, even Phil and Techno were there to say a final goodbye to their brother. Dream was watching from a distance, avoiding being seen by the friends - family - of the kid he had shot. He cried too that day, but they didn't need to know. He knew the L'Manbergians didn't know about their independence yet, and he knew that he couldn't miss Tommy surprising them again from beyond the grave. 'I have a final thing to say, before Tommy is laid to rest. I have a letter, written by Tommy, addressed to the people of L' Manberg. It says to "only read it if I dies, because if you read it and I'm alive, that'd be cringe."' There were a few laughs from the crowd, and Dream smiled. 'So, I guess, instead of me rambling on for forever, I should read this:</p><p>
  <em>"Dear Wilbur, Tubbo, Fundy and Niki. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>If you’re reading this, then you know that I’m dead. I’m sorry I lost the duel. But, all hope is not lost. Dammit I don’t know how to say this. Tubbo, remember the discs? Remember listening to them on the bench by my enterprise, watching the sun go down. </em>
</p><p>(There were tears marks on the paper at this point.)</p><p>
  <em>Well, I’m sorry we can’t do that anymore. Sorry I’m gone. But… you’re part of a free country now, no matter the fruits of the duel. I gave up the discs for your freedom. Truth be told, I never really expected to win the duel. I doubt any of you truly believed I’d win either. Don’t worry, it’s fine. I’m sorry I can’t live to see the nation that you’re going to build, together, all of you. I wish things could’ve been different. I’m sorry. Good luck, Mr President Soot. Tubbo, I think you’ll be an excellent Secretary of State. Fundy, talk to Wilbur, I know you’d like some more power in L’Manberg. Niki, thanks for trying to save me, I know you did your best. I’m sorry I won’t see the nation this place will become, but I know that everything we’ve done, this duel, everything was worth it, to see this nation rise from smoking rubble to a country of freedom, friendship and change. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Thank you for this time. </em>
</p><p><em>Tommy."</em>' The letter was short, but they were shocked to silence.</p><p>Fundy was the first to speak, 'We're free?' He looked shocked but felt entirely unsurprised because of course this was something Tommy would do, something so completely reckless and uncertain. Tubbo looked surprised when Wilbur had read out his new title, but he smiled. They were a free nation. ‘But… He lost the duel, and we lost the war.’ Fundy was glad they were free, but was it true?</p><p>‘You’re free.’ Dream felt that now was a good time for him to make his entrance, and jumped down from his observing place in the trees, ‘I’m so fucking sorry that I did that, and I know you won’t forgive me, because it won’t change anything, but you are free. I have the discs.’ But Dream didn’t leave with that. ‘I’m not sorry that we won the war, but I’m sorry it had to end this way. Here.’ Dream cautiously laid down something atop of Tommy’s coffin, and turned to the others, ‘I don’t care about your nation, I only really cared for the discs and somehow that spawned this excess conflict. I’m sorry. I know I can’t change anything now, but if I could I would.’ With that, Dream pulled an enderpearl out of one of his many pockets and pearled away. Tubbo was surprised. He approached Tommy’s coffin, curious about what Dream had left for the dead boy. He gasped in surprise.</p><p>‘What is it Tubbo?’ Wilbur asked.</p><p>‘It’s a disc.’</p><p>‘Oh.’</p><p>
  <em>&gt;~&lt;</em>
</p><p>The ex-soldiers, who fought for independence and saw one of their best friends go down in a duel for their homeland, cried that day. A boy fell, and a nation wept. A King became alone, a God shot a child, a Soldier became a Martyr. The Martyr would never see the nation blossom into a beautiful land. He would never see the nation be taken over by a dictator, never see the very same nation go down in a fireball of hatred and revenge, destroyed by his own brother. He would never become Theseus, the hero that was doomed in exile. He would never see his best friend become a president, and then become the same person who exiled him. He would never see his brother spiral into insanity and his own father kill him in an attempt to free him from his brokenness. He would never welcome new people to the realm. He died, and maybe, maybe that was for the better. He died knowing that his home would be free, his family would be happy and he was content with that. His story was over, it had been a long journey, and he had come to rest after bloodshed, betrayal, lies and death. There was a light at the end of the tunnel, a way out of the worst depths of his life. He was okay. His friends would be okay. A soldier became a martyr, a soldier became a hero. It was meant to be.</p><p>&gt;~&lt;</p><p>
  <em>Two arrows. Two people. Two bows. Eight witnesses. A body and a man who was really a god came out of the duel. An independent nation blossomed and they wept for a fallen soldier. It was over. Two arrows, one body. This saga was over.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>yeah. this was a journey to write. I'm tired as hell. There is most likely errors in this, so please point them out. I hate errors.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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